The invention concerns the field of machines for processing containers, particularly machines of the type found on a bottling line. It can therefore include rinsing machines, filling machines, corking or capping machines, or labeling machines.
These machines generally comprise a table having legs that rest on the floor. Attached to the table are functional elements such as container transfer wheels or devices for processing bottles. As the term is used in the patent, a processing device is the component that performs the principal operation for which the machine in question is intended. Thus, in a rotary filling machine, this processing device will be a carrousel on which are mounted filling spouts. In a rinsing machine, this can be the carrousel that loads the containers and carries the rinse nozzles.
Very frequently these functional elements include a rotary carrousel. By following the layout of various successive functional elements, the containers go along a path of a succession of arcs of circles that are tangentially connected to each other. In all cases, in order to ensure proper operation of the machine, the functional elements must be mounted on the table in such a way as to have a precisely defined layout.
Beneath the table there are generally accessories such as transmission mechanisms that drive the functional elements, but also pumps or piping to carry cleaning products or to remove excess product spilled on the table.
The purpose of the machine""s table, therefore, is to be equipped with the different functional elements. It must be very rigid, especially so since it generally rests on a limited number of legs in order to allow free space beneath the table for the installation of a maximum number of accessories.
Moreover, particularly in food-related applications, the table must be able to resist oxidation because the products used for cleaning the machine are usually very corrosive.
According to the prior art, the tables of such machines are in the form of a lattice structure generally made of pipes or ordinary steel beams and covered with stainless steel sheet. With this type of design, the trellis structure generally has to be relatively dense, which means both that a large number of pipes must be used, as well as a relatively long assembly time, for example by welding. In addition, the assembly of the pipes must be done quite precisely or the table will be xe2x80x9cwobbly.xe2x80x9d All of this results in a high production cost. Moreover, although the stainless steel sheet covering does indeed protect the lattice structure from a large portion of the sprays of corrosive products, nevertheless there are indirect sprays that can reach the ordinary steel structure, and in any event it is often in an atmosphere that is favorable to corrosion phenomena (temperature, moisture, etc.). The result is often that, after a number of times of operation, the structure is attacked by corrosion, which Is never satisfactory.
Another solution already proposed is to cast a one-piece table from stainless material. This solution is satisfactory in terms of rigidity and resistance to corrosion, but it involves the use of a large quantity of stainless material, which is disadvantageous in terms of weight and even more so in terms of cost.
There is therefore a need for a new design of a table for a bottle processing machine that is of simple, inexpensive construction, but which meets all of the requirements such as rigidity and resistance to corrosion.
To that end, the invention proposes a container processing machine, particularly for a bottling line, of the type having at least one table on which are mounted functional elements suitable for transferring and/or processing the containers, characterized in that the table is made in the form of a sandwich-like structure having an outer casing and an inner core composed of a material that is injected in fluid form into the casing and which solidifies therein.
According to other characteristics of the invention:
the functional elements are mounted on the table by means of interface parts that are anchored in the inner core of the sandwich structure;
the inner core is composed of a concrete type material;
the inner core is composed of a synthetic resin;
the casing is made of stainless steel;
the casing is made in the form of bent and welded sheet metal;
the casing has an upper face formed from sheet metal elements that are appreciably flat but arranged in such a way that the upper face of the casing is convex to promote the runoff of liquids to the outer part of the table;
the functional elements include a container transfer wheel;
the functional elements include a container filling carrousel;
the functional elements include a container corking carrousel;
the functional elements include a container cleaning carrousel;
the functional elements include legs to support the table; and
the table of the machine is formed from several juxtaposed table elements.
The invention also proposes a method of producing a table for a container processing machine having the above-mentioned characteristics, characterized in that it has steps consisting of:
arranging the interface parts on a production template to fix them in place in their relative positions;
attaching the casing to said interface parts;
filling the casing with the material intended to form the core of the sandwich structure.